The present disclosure relates to locating an object based on a tag charging time of the object's RFID tag in response to receiving a request signal from an RFID reader.
Laws and regulations exist that prohibit certain objects from being in particular locations in a vehicle. For example, many cities prohibit cell phones from being used in non-hands free mode. In addition, many areas prohibit certain objects from being stored in the vehicle's cabin, such as alcohol, firearms, etc., which should be located in the trunk of a vehicle.
Today, RFID (radio-frequency identification) tags are typically affixed to objects for tracking purposes, shoplifting prevention, etc. RFID systems utilize radio waves to automatically identify objects and typically consist of two main components, which are RFID readers and RFID tags. RFID tags contain an integrated circuit and an antenna, which are used to transmit data to the RFID reader (also called an interrogator). The reader then converts the radio waves to a more usable form of data.
RFID tags include active RFID tags, passive RFID tags, and semi-passive RFID tags. An active RFID tag is equipped with a battery that is a partial source or complete source of power for the tag's circuitry and antenna. A passive RFID tag does not contain a battery. Instead, the power is generated when the reader's radio waves forms a magnetic field in the RFID tag's coiled antenna, energizing the circuits in the tag. The tag then sends the information encoded in the tag's memory. Semi-passive tags use a battery to run the chip's circuitry, but send responses by drawing power from the reader's radio waves.